This topic comes from Ann Pale I. You may read it by clicking on the link above, but ANN PALE I is now closed to new input. If you have any comment to make, you'll have to come back to ANN PALE II.

Is there such a thing as a true aphrodisiac by the way or is it all "in the mind" of the individual???

Perhaps, what works for one person does not work for another!! We are so different. Some people take Tylenol, some people take Advil, some people take Aleve, and so on...

I kind of think that's why they also manufacture Viagra, Cialis, and other medicines of the same type. [But I am not a doctor or pharmacist. Perhaps they are made for different health conditions, even though they all purport to treat Erectile Dysfunction.] However, all those new modern pharmaceutical products are potential killers of people with heart conditions. So, I wonder, what is a man with a heart condition to do? [My heart is perfectly fine, thank you. And so is the rest of you-know-what.]

In fact, I was confronted with that dilemma recently, when a woman friend asked me for advice for her husband who suffered from a heart condition and also from Erectile Dysfunction. "Is there some Haitian remedy?," she asked me, "I know that you know all things Haitian."

Well, I may be Mr. Windows on Haiti, but I certainly do not know all things Haitian. I wish I did, but there is no such animal. Perhaps some people that come close to that description are some of our greatest houngans and mambos. But these days, so many of them are fake. Perhaps it was always that way? All I know is that I can "smell the fakery" of so many self-titled or money-ordained houngans and mambos several miles away. Plis moun kab fè lajan sou tèt pèp ayisyen toujou.

Secondly, I am very skeptical of Haitian remedies [such as, anything bitter must be good for "sik", meaning diabetes], especially when the remedies purport to treat mentally-associated conditions as opposed to strictly physical injuries When it comes to Erectile Dysfunction, a houngan or mambo is the last person one should go to. Unless you view them as psychologists also.

"Anyway," I told her, "encourage him to see a doctor", which is probably the best advice I could possibly give her, knowing that her husband suffered from a heart condition. I did not want to say anything else that might put her on the path of killing her husband unintentionally. But then, I decided to do a little investigation of my own. So I called a Haitian friend of mine who is reported to be a Doctor in Human Sexuality. His answer was straight up. "Chinese or Bwa Kanpe," he said. "Chinese?" "Yes," he said, "they sell it in all the Chinese stores. If she does not have any Chinese store near her, she should go to Chinatown (in Manhattan or Boston or any other major US City where there is a Chinatown). I told my friend. She did not want to go to any Chinatown. "Can you get me some Bwa Kanpe?," she said. Oh Lord, what an assignment! I am not even getting paid for this.

So, I started to call even more people, inquiring about the famous Bwa Kanpe. What exactly is it??? I heard different versions. But in the end, I was told, it has to come from Haiti. So I called a family member in Haiti and asked him to bring me some Bwa Kanpe on his next trip, taking the enormous risk that since I was the one making the request, I might be thought of as the one "in need". Why is this an "enormous" risk? I don't know... it's just a matter of principle! But I'll do almost anything to help a friend in need, especially a female friend (...but not anything!)

So, what is "Bwa Kanpe" ? From what I learned, it is the bark of a tree that grows in Haiti that appears to have marvelous properties as the main ingredient of a special infusion. l learned further that "Bwa Kanpe" is just one of a long family of such "tranpe" [a special Haitian word that indicates infusions of leaves or other plant/tree parts (roots, bark, seed, etc) with a certain dose of alcohol] that may be taken for just the pleasure of drinking them, but also used to treat certain conditions such as Erectile Dysfunction. I also suspect that they may serve as food for the spirits in some family altars. [Yes, many Haitian families take the service of their family ancestors or "lwa" very seriously.]

But there's the rub. If "Bwa Kanpe" and other such remedies always involve alcohol, then it automatically excludes a large part of the population which will not consume alcohol for one reason or another. The person may be a Jehovah Witness or Seventh-Day Adventist for one thing. For another, the person may be prohibited by his doctors from drinking any alcohol for health-related reasons. In fact, such was the case I had on hand. The unfortunate fellow had both a heart condition AND was restricted from drinking any alcohol. Therefore, no "bwa kanpe" for this fellow. No Viagra or derivatives either. Life is hard, what can I say?

So, I told my friend, have your husband see a doctor [something that a lot of Males are loathe to do] or perhaps, "go Chinese", as the Human Sexuality expert suggested. But I don't know what "Chinese" really is or what exactly it does and in what way it does it. But I assume that the Chinese people must be the happiest people on earth.

In the end, however, I came back to this article and wonder if there is any truth about "baga". But knowing that there are billions of cows in America, and not nearly as many bulls (and the lucky or unlucky few are "milked" at unconscionable levels for the purpose of artificial insemination), I wonder about the real supply of bull testicles on the market. I wonder whether consumers of "baga" are truly consuming what they think they are. But I guess, in the end, that may not matter if thinking that they do gets them the same results!

I have not had any "baga" or "janjòl" (as they used to call it in Cap-Haitien), but when I want to add some "extra zest" to my sex life, I turn to another Haitian dish: Lanbi. It may all be psychological, but who cares? It also happens to be one of the most delicious dishes, when it is well-prepared. [All Haitian restaurants serve Lanbi, but few know how to do it right.]

So, if my friend's husband cannot have "bwa kanpe" or any other "tranpe", and cannot have any Viagra or similar pharmaceutical products, and is reluctant to go "Chinese", what is left? "Try Lanbi," I suggested. "We cannot have Lanbi," she said, "because it is a forbidden food according to our religion".

I give up. Such religions should forbid sex altogether, except when it comes naturally (that is, "hard like stiff wood"). And ladies afflicted with husbands with ED should learn other ways to cool off the heat.